stealth bacteria

[josephine]

HI Folks,

this is a last ditch attempt out of sheer desperation to find an intelligent answer

 

Is there a bacteria that does not show on an ordinary culture and general blood tests?

 

I have been suffering repeated symptoms for 2 yrs (uti, kidneys, joints and skin, pain and fatigue) which clear up with antibiotics but nothing shows on a culture.

 

6 weeks ago I had an abdominal hysterectomy and the symptoms have sped up enormously. I have been treated with repeated rounds of augmentin, to which it responds slowly, but as soon as stopping, it comes right back. urine strips show white blood cells and protein. The doctor told me the pain was uterine and took it out, but the pain came right back within 2 weeks of surgery. Augmentin took it off, but it returned within 3 days of stopping treatment.

 

So what type of bacteria would not show in ordinary cultures, (mycoplasma?) responds slowly to penicillins but is not killed by penicillin? It is my understanding that mycoplasma does not respond to penicillins, so what else could it be?

 

Any lead at all would be welcome as I am a professional and this is destroying my career. I do apologise if this is an inappropriate question for this forum but I am my wits end.

[CharonY]

Unfortunately there is a sizable amount non-culturable species found in urine (see e.g. J Clin Microbiol. 2004 February; 42(2): 753–758). But to make a diagnosis is a quite different matter. Note that I am not a medical doctor, and am therefore speculating with no claims of expertise whatsoever.

The fact that antibiotics relieved the pain may be an indicator, however, if the effect is only moderate one should keep in mind that the placebo effect may also play a role (especially with regards to pain relief).

 

Considering the strong side-effects of antibiotics, I would consider also to explore other potential sources associated with pain and fatigue. While there are ways to assess the number of bacteria without cultivation, they have, to my limited knowledge, not been streamlined to standard medical practice. However, some research clinics have specialized in this area.

 

But again, I am not qualified to give real advice aside from looking for more specialists.

[Realitycheck]

viral?

[Magdalene]

When You use many antibiotics bacteria could muting, it's possible also that patient could infected of mutant strain. If You have a isolat of bacteria You could send it to genetic identification. I hope that there is a lab which use PCR to identification of bacteria it will be much more easier to knew what it really is.